


Where do we go from here?

by ArivFroso, KagomeBenihime



Series: Treat for The Trickster [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bobby Knows Best, Dean Does Research, M/M, Protective Dean Winchester, angel feathers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 23:38:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11885271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArivFroso/pseuds/ArivFroso, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KagomeBenihime/pseuds/KagomeBenihime
Summary: The trio head to Bobby's to get some answers, will they get the answers they're looking for?





	Where do we go from here?

The trip to Bobby's was fairly quiet, music playing on the radio as they drove, Dean continually glancing at the Trickster in his back seat, and Gabriel, secretly cleaning his wings as they went, wanting them perfect the next time Sam saw them.  
Sam kept glancing back too. He couldn’t believe the sight of his angel in the back seat of the Impala.  
Finally, Sam broke the quiet, asking, “Did you tell Bobby we were coming?”  
Dean nodded. “Called while I was carrying stuff out.”   
Gabriel chimed in, “But you didn't tell him why or about me.”   
Dean stiffens slightly, looking guarded. “Did you just read my mind?”   
Gabriel sighs. “Lucky guess.” Meeting Sam's eyes, _“Definitely need to be careful with that… can't exactly stop it… especially when they're thinking about yours truly…”_   
Sam nodded once. “Probably a good idea. This is gonna be easier to explain in person.”  
Gabriel nods slightly. “Would be an interesting phone conversation though… ‘Hey, Bobby? Just wanted to let you know that I'm mated to the Trickster god Loki. Imagine that!’ ...ok, yeah I can see where you're coming from on that…”  
Dean looked at him in the mirror again. _“Mated?”_   
Gabriel’s smile disappears, realizing what he'd done. “Oh… um… surprise?”   
Sam gave Dean a challenging look, as if daring him to say anything about it. Dean shook his head and looked out the windshield, jaw set.   
Gabriel spent the next few miles apologizing to Sam silently before they pulled onto Bobby's scrap yard.  
As they enter the house a gruff voice came from the main room. “About time you idjits showed up.” The boys move in to find Bobby looking through his books, turning to look at them and folding his arms in his no nonsense kinda way. “Now, what was so bad you couldn't say on the phone?”  
Sam cleared his throat and stepped slightly to the side to reveal Gabriel.  
Bobby raises an eyebrow. “Who's this?”  
Gabriel fidgets, thinking he better let Sam or Dean explain at first, not wanting to make a bad impression.   
“Loki,” Dean says flatly. “The trickster that caused the deaths at the college.”   
“It wasn’t his fault, Dean!” Sam was sick of having to remind him. He turned to Bobby and said, “A student, Jen, had him bound with a spell.”   
Bobby’s eyebrows were getting higher and higher “Ok… and he's with you...why?”   
Dean looked at Sam expectantly, who took a deep breath before speaking slowly. “Well, I… love him.” His ears were red but his voice didn’t waver.   
Bobby's eyes widen slightly “After knowing him a few hours? Sam… he's a mon-”   
“No he isn’t,” Sam snapped angrily. “Besides, I… I’ve met him before.”   
“Before this hunt?” Dean was looking suspicious.  
Sam nodded. “One of the teachers at Stanford tried to sell me to him for a wish. But I had thought it was just a dream til we found him at the school.”  
“Tried to _Sell_ you?” Dean looked furious “Where can I find this professor?”  
Gabriel chimed in then. “Coma ward at the hospital near the Stanford campus.”   
“Tried to,” Sam repeats. “Like I said, he’s not a monster.” Dean sighs, torn between worry for his brother's safety and the point that had been ingrained into them from childhood, all monsters were just that, monsters. And they needed to be hunted. But then he thinks about how happy Sam looked when he agreed to give them their shot… it had been years since he'd seen his brother smile like that…  
“Why,” Bobby started, staring the trickster down, “is that professor in the coma ward?” Sam sighed, having hoped he’d changed the subject fast enough for them not to get caught on that.  
Gabriel shifted slightly. “He'd asked for knowledge… I gave it to him but his brain couldn't take it…” He scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. “I guess I went a little ‘vengeful wrath’ on him…”   
“He _was_ trying to sell me,” Sam reminded, trying to justify what Gabriel had done. “And he hasn’t killed anyone he wasn’t forced into.”   
“Not since I met you anyways.” Gabriel said softly.   
Dean was shaking his head, still having trouble believing that. His instincts as a hunter were warring with his instincts as a brother.  
Bobby had fixed Loki with a scrutinizing look. As though he could see his intentions if he just looked hard enough.   
Gabriel sighed softly. “What… What can I do to help convince you? I don't want you to distrust me… please…” Sam sighed, scratching his head slightly, wishing he could just explain to them so they could understand… Bobby's eyes shifted to Sam at the movement, eyes fixing on the dark rune on his wrist, eyes narrowing.  
Sam looks confused a moment, but remembers the rune on his wrist. Part of him wants to hide it for some reason, but he holds it out for Bobby to look.  
Bobby looks it over a moment before glancing up at him. “How'd you get this?”   
Sam blushed slightly. “I think it has something to do with mating with him…”  
Bobby looks at Gabriel “Mating… huh?”   
Gabriel's eyes widen slightly. _“Sam…”_   
Dean sighed. “Yeah, apparently they're mated now… I don't know when or what happened there but… yeah.”   
Sam looks to Gabriel as if he’d called his name aloud. _“What?”_   
Gabriel looked at him. _“I… think he knows…”_   
Bobby looks at Dean. “So, did you have a question about something or…”   
Sam stared at Gabriel, utterly puzzled. _“Knows what?”_   
“Well, I guess I wanted to know what you had on Loki. And what you think about… all this,” Dean said.   
_“Who I am… who I really am... I think he knows.”_ Gabriel said, watching the old hunter as he moved to the desk to shuffle some books.   
“Loki eh? Well… I can tell ya he's known for his shape shifting… has a lot of kids… Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr for some... Narfi and Nari by his wife, Sleipnir with the stallion Svaðilfari, And Váli with Odin as the father. He was said to have brought about the death of Baldr… and as punishment, was tied up with the entrails of his own son and a snake dripping venom on him so he'd thrash, creating earthquakes…”   
Gabriel bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet, chewing his lip nervously.   
“If ya believe the books then… he should still be trapped somewhere waiting to fight in Ragnarök…” Bobby looked up “That's basically it… the lore on him’s always been fairly slim…”   
Sam was watching Gabriel. He hadn’t thought about those things. Did Gabriel really have kids? Did any of those things actually happen?   
Dean looked disapproving. “And… what do you think about this?” Bobby hadn’t seen how happy Sam had looked, but Dean trusted him.   
Bobby shrugs. “I do know one thing… Loki may be an out of control trickster most of the time… but he's always kept any vow or promise he's made. So if he's mated with Sam then… I think you've gained an ally.”   
Gabriel looks at Dean, he could tell he wasn't completely convinced. “Dean… what can I do?”   
“Promise me,” Dean said suddenly. “Swear you won’t hurt him.”   
Sam gave Dean a look full of love. Even with everything, he only had Sam’s best interest at heart.   
Gabriel straightened, looking Dean dead in the eyes, all joking disappears and his eyes seem to glow even in the afternoon light flooding the room. “I promise you… I will never hurt Sam. I will never lie to Sam or let anything happen to him that I can prevent… I swear to you…”   
Dean watched him carefully as he spoke. At the end of it he nods, evidently satisfied.   
Sam smiles, impressed by Gabriel’s vow and glad Dean seems to have finally really accepted this. He looks to Bobby, curious if he actually does know, but figures it’s better not to ask in front of Dean.   
“Hey Dean… do you think you could run out and grab some lunch? Stoves busted.” Bobby smiles apologetically before pointing at Gabriel. “You I have questions for. You too Sam.”   
Gabriel freezes like a deer in the headlights for a moment before trying to put on his trickster mask, shrugging and flopping on the couch before snapping up a sucker.   
Sam sits beside Gabriel as Dean heads out.   
“So…” Sam said as the Impala pulled away.   
“So,” Bobby said, folding his arms and leaning back against his desk. “Care to explain how you have an archangel mark on your wrist and how ‘Loki’ gave it to you?”   
Sam looks down at his wrist. “Well, you were right. He did figure it out.” He looks to Gabriel as if asking permission to tell Bobby.   
Gabriel shrugged. “Might as well. He's already got part of it.”   
Sam nodded and turned to Bobby. “His name isn’t Loki. It’s Gabriel.”   
Bobby seemed stunned for a moment. “Gabriel… the messenger?”   
Gabriel shrugs slightly with a slight smile. “Guilty.”   
Bobby shook himself slightly. “You're mated with an archangel… but why the disguise? Why not tell Dean?”   
Gabriel sighed. “Do you not know Dean's thoughts on the whole ‘Heavenly Hosts’ thing? Might as well try to tell a rabbit it has horns.” He looks thoughtful for a moment before continuing. “I made one of those once… jackalope didn't go over so well… my platypus on the other hand…”   
“Gabriel.” Sam chided and Gabriel seemed to snap out of his memory.   
“Sorry.” he said with a smile “What were we saying?”   
Sam shook his head slightly. “Why keep it a secret, Gabriel? I mean, I didn’t say anything because it’s not my secret to tell.”   
Gabriel sighs softly. “Honestly, I've been on the run from my family so long I guess… I guess I just thought it was safer to be Loki…” He looked up at Sam. “That and Dean would probably have a bird if he knew you were mated to an archangel rather than a pagan… at least in his mind pagans can exist. Angels can't.”   
Sam nodded slowly but still looked a bit confused. “Why were you on the run from your… family?”   
Gabriel sighed softly. “Like I said before… too much drama… I love my family… and my brothers… I couldn't bear watching them turn on each other… I tried for so long to keep the others happy… but in the end… I failed… and I ran…”   
Sam took his hand, trying to comfort him. He couldn’t imagine what his ‘family’ was like, but he tried to be understanding and supportive.   
Bobby nodded. “The fall, then?” Sam looked at him confused. “Of Lucifer, I mean.”   
Sam blinked. Had it been that long ago that Gabriel had left Heaven? That was practically prehistory.   
Gabriel nodded “A little after, yeah…” He shifts slightly “Has it really been that long? I wonder how everyone is…”   
Sam looked at him with an odd expression. “At least three thousand years…” He smiled slyly. “Just how old are you?”   
Gabriel smiles at him, eyes twinkling “Do you really wanna know Sam?”   
“One hell of an age gap,” Sam chuckled.   
Gabriel shrugged and smiled “I don't mind being a cradle robber. Long as you don't mind being a grave robber.” With that, Gabriel fell back in a fit of giggles, the earlier sadness forgotten.   
Sam is beaming, Gabriel’s happiness seemed contagious. “And do you really have all those kids?”   
Gabriel stops laughing and looks... kinda sheepish. “Well… let's just say I… got around, back in the day.” He looks up at Sam, worried he'd be mad or something.   
Sam just started laughing again, shaking his head at the look on Gabriel’s face. He looks away to see what Bobby thought of all this. His opinion meant the world to Sam.   
Bobby was shaking his head, a slight smile on his face. “It's nice to see you smiling again Sam… it's been a while…” Looking at Gabriel, he continues. “And you still have your wings and grace? I thought that would have faded if you'd been gone for so long.”   
Gabriel shook his head “Archangels were made like atomic bombs… our power is our own. It's not going anywhere.”   
Bobby nods. “Can we see your wings? If you don't mind me asking…”   
“They’re amazing,” Sam gushed without thinking.  
Gabriel chuckled, happy Sam liked them so much. “Sure.” He stands and moves to the middle of the room and closed his eyes, a few moments later there's the sound of feathers shifting and the glowing golden wings appear behind him.   
Sam sighs softly, dazed by their beauty.   
Bobby's eyes bugged slightly. “Wow…” He moved around Gabriel, examining the wings. “Do all angels have the same wings?”   
Gabriel shrugged. “Archangels have multiple sets, Seraphs and other tiers have one set a piece. Everyone has a different color though. No one's alike in that. Like Michael has four sets in sky blue and... Lucifer has four in white… I'm the middle kid so I'm three sets.” He smirks slightly. “Although… I'm the only one with a halo.”   
“A halo?” Sam asked curiously.   
Gabriel nodded. “Dad figured I needed to have something to set me apart as ‘messenger’ so he gave me a halo.”   
“Can we see it?” Sam asked, intrigued.   
Gabriel smiled and nodded slightly, slowly a mandala of light appeared behind his head, colors shifting and glinting like sunlight off stained glass, Gabriel looked down slightly, looking sheepish again.   
Sam’s eyes were so wide they reflected the colors of the halo. He was kinda slack jawed in amazement, staring up at it.   
Gabriel fidgets slightly. “Yeah…” The halo fades away. “That's it… Dad's sense of humor in action…” Glancing at Sam he continued. _“always sensitive too…”_ Smiling slightly at the thoughts of Sam's hand in his hair. The wing closest to Sam moved closer to him, wanting to be touched again. Gabriel rolls his eyes with a smile “They really like you…”   
Sam makes a mental note to touch his hair more often. He looks to Bobby again, remembering what he said earlier, about finally seeing him smiling again. “He makes me happy.”   
Bobby nods slightly. “Well, it could be a lot worse… you could be with a demon or something…”   
The purr of the Impala is heard as Dean pulls back in and Sam nodded, reaching out to stroke the soft feathers. “You might want to put these away, if you don’t want Dean to see…” His tone makes it clear he doesn’t want them gone, but it’s Gabriel’s decision.   
Gabriel nods, the wings disappear and he moves to the couch again and flops down.   
Sam lets out a small sigh, already missing them. He leans against his angel as Dean comes in with bags of food.   
“Foods here!” Dean announced with a grin before seeing something under the desk that made him stop, looking curious. “What's this?” He asked, setting the food on the table and bending to pick up a long golden feather.   
Sam’s eyes widen and he’s careful not to look at Gabriel.   
Gabriel smiled “Oh, that's mine. Brought it as a present for Bobby. You need them for certain spells.”   
Bobby looked surprised at this but took the feather when Dean held it out.   
Sam smiled easily again, glad Gabriel had covered it over so easily. A tingle of worry crept into his mind though. Were those feathers supposed to fall out? Or did it mean something was wrong, like he was sick or something?   
_“I'm fine Sam.”_ Gabriel said softly _“Bobby wouldn't stop thinking about how he'd like one. I guess they decided to comply.”_ Gabriel grinned at Dean. “So what's for lunch Dean-o?”   
“Burgers,” Dean said simply, pulling one out of the bag and tosses it to Loki.   
“Thanks, Dean,” Sam says as he catches the second one Dean throws.   
Gabriel grins, chowing down on his burger and making yummy noises.   
Once they're all finished Gabriel grins around the room. “So, I get to be a hunter now?”   
Dean sighs “Is there a way for you not to deal out ‘Just Desserts’ everywhere we go? Don't get me wrong, I don't want you getting sick either but...”   
Sam looks over. “What do you mean?”   
Dean glances at him “If tricksters don't... trick... then their powers can fade and they could die.” Dean shrugs at the stares from Sam and Bobby, looking defensive. “What? I read…” Dean sighs, he doesn't want to tell Sammy that when he said he was going for a drink that morning he had actually gone to the library to study tricksters, just in case.   
Sam’s eyes widen and he looks to Gabriel.   
Gabriel smiles weakly at Sam. “Maybe tricking monsters works just as well.” His voice sounded slightly unsure but he looked confident. He took Sam’s hand gently. “We'll figure it out as we go.”   
Sam nodded, still looking a bit worried.   
“Speaking of hunting…” Bobby said, pulling out one of his journals and pulling out some newspaper clippings. “Got a case… any interest or should I hand it to Garth?”   
Sam nods. “We can look into it.”   
Gabriel grins. “Well then. Let's light this candle!”


End file.
